It’s extremely common to lose hair around your temples, especially as you get older. In men with male pattern baldness, the hair around your temples is normally the first to go, and can be seen as early as Norwood stage 1.
But while a receding hairline is pretty common, it’s also normal to want to preserve your temple hair. A temple hair transplant is the most effective way to tackle temple hair loss.
So how does a temple hair transplant work, and is it the right treatment for you?
- What is temple hair loss and why does it happen?
- Can you get a hair transplant just for the temples?
- How does a hair transplant to fill in the temples work?
- Who can have a temple hair transplant?
- Temple hair transplants: before and after
- How many grafts do you need for temple hair loss?
- How much does a temple hair transplant cost?
- Why don’t hair transplants always cover the temples?
- Alternative temple hair loss treatments
- Get a temple hair transplant at the Wimpole Clinic
What is temple hair loss and why does it happen?
Temple hair loss affects the hair directly above your eyebrows. These hair follicles are often highly sensitive to dihydrotestosterone (DHT): a male sex hormone that causes follicles to shrink and stop producing hair.
In fact, while pattern baldness is progressive, most hair loss related to male pattern baldness begins at the temples [1]. So it’s likely you’ll notice thinning here before it spreads across your scalp.
Can you get a hair transplant just for the temples?
Yes, it’s possible to get a hair transplant just for your temples. This is usually requested in the early stages of hair loss, typically around Norwood stage 2.
These photos show two Wimpole Clinic patients with different degrees of temple hair loss prior to their temple hair transplants:
How does a hair transplant to fill in the temples work?
A temple hair transplant works the same way as other hair restoration procedures:
- Your surgeon assesses your hair loss and the hair available in your donor area to check you’re a good hair transplant candidate.
- They design a realistic, natural-looking hairline, so you know what results to expect (see the blue pen in the image above).
- The surgical team extracts the hair grafts individually (FUE) or as a strip (FUT).
- They make tiny incisions in your temple area and implant the grafts, following the natural pattern of your remaining hair.
- After a 12-18 month hair transplant recovery period, your grafts will grow fully, restoring the hair in your temples.
Temple hair loss can often be tackled with fewer grafts than a crown bald spot or mid-scalp thinning, so most patients choose the FUE or unshaven FUE technique.
FUE and UFUE leave less scarring in your donor area, and while these methods take longer than FUT, they have a shorter recovery time. So they’re more practical and less invasive for temple hair loss patients.
Temporal peak restoration
Temporal peaks are a natural part of your hairline which can also be affected by male pattern balding. Temporal peaks or points are areas of fine hair at the side of your head:
Good hair transplants will restore your temporal peaks. While the hair here shouldn’t be overly dense, temporal peak restoration is important for framing your face and making your forehead appear smaller.
Who can have a temple hair transplant?
Anyone who’s eligible for a hair transplant can have a temple hair transplant procedure. But there are some instances where a hair transplant might not be the best option:
- You’re in the very early stages of hair loss.
- A previous surgeon has overharvested your donor area.
- You have temple hair loss as a result of frontal fibrosing alopecia or another hair loss condition unrelated to pattern baldness.
- You don’t want to take preventative measures like Finasteride.
If you haven’t yet lost much hair, you may be able to restore your temples with non-surgical treatments like Finasteride or Minoxidil. These should always be tried before you turn to surgery. They should also be used in conjunction with a hair transplant to prevent ongoing hair loss and reduce the chances of needing a second hair transplant.
Overharvesting often reduces the number of grafts available in your donor area. So you might not have enough grafts to give you adequate temple coverage.
If you have a type of alopecia other than pattern baldness, a hair transplant may not be appropriate. So it’s best to get a hair loss diagnosis, especially if you’re a woman or you’re unsure what’s causing your temple hair loss.
Temple hair transplants: before and after
Your temples are super visible, so it’s important to find a good clinic that can give you excellent results. Here are some of the before and after hair transplant results we’ve achieved for our temple hair transplant patients:
- Procedure: FUE
- Grafts: 1,200
- Time: 8 months
- Procedure: FUE
- Grafts: 700
- Time: 8 months
- Procedure: FUE
- Grafts: 600
- Time: 8 months
- Procedure: FUE
- Grafts: 500
- Time: 9 months
How many grafts do you need for temple hair loss?
You generally need 500 – 1,500 grafts for a temple hair transplant. The actual number of grafts you need depends on how much hair you’ve lost.
How much does a temple hair transplant cost?
According to our UK hair transplant cost research, the average cost of a temple hair transplant is £4,820. This is based on a Norwood stage 2 hair transplant, and includes approximately 1,500 grafts.
For hairline transplants that require fewer grafts, you can expect to pay between £3,000 and £4,000 for your procedure.
The actual cost of your temple hair transplant will depend on several factors, including:
- Clinic location
- The number of grafts you need
- Additional coverage (for instance, across the crown or mid-scalp)
Why don’t hair transplants always cover the temples?
The amount of temple coverage you get from a hair transplant depends on your age, and the hair available in your donor area.
A thick, full hairline that completely fills the temples doesn’t always look natural, especially in older men. That’s why restored hairlines often retain slight recession, such as Elon Musk’s hair transplant:
Alternative temple hair loss treatments
Because temple hair loss is usually the first sign of pattern baldness, you can take action to stop it progressing further without resorting to surgery.
Here are some of the best non-surgical treatments for temple hair loss:
- Finasteride — an oral tablet that blocks DHT production at a systemic level.
- Topical Finasteride — an off-label liquid solution that can lower scalp DHT levels.
- Minoxidil — a topical solution that stimulates blood flow to the follicles.
- Caffeine shampoos — leave a caffeine treatment on your scalp for up to 30 minutes (or as advised on the label) to promote hair growth.
That said, many of these treatments are more effective at treating crown hair loss than temple hair loss [2]. So to get the most targeted, effective treatment for frontal balding, a temple hair transplant is your best bet.
Get a temple hair transplant at the Wimpole Clinic
Book a free consultation at the Wimpole Clinic to get a full hair loss assessment and a temple hair transplant quote for your hair loss, with prices starting at £3,499.
Talk to a specialist ☎ 020 7935 1861.
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